Georgia Bulldogs coach Kirby Smart Tells ESPN's Gameday: Dawgs Will Be "Hungry Hunters"
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ATLANTA - Georgia Bulldogs and coach Kirby Smart are getting ready to take on Ryan Day and the Ohio State Buckeyes in the 2022 Chick-fil-A Peach Bowl in the College Football Playoffs. Saturday morning the UGA coach said the Dawgs would be “Hungry Hunters.”
“You have to come out swinging,” Kirby told ESPN. “Hungry hunters - I think that's the only way to hunt. You have to eat. I am sure Ohio State feels the same way.”
The Bulldogs and Buckeyes will kickoff at 8 PM EST on ESPN.
This is the second game in a row for the Dawgs in Atlanta. The last time out No. 1 Georgia took out LSU 50-30 in the 2022 SEC Championship Game.
“We didn't play our best game the last time we were out, but our offense picked us up,” Kirby said. “We didn't have the perfect SEC Championship Game, so we have things to work on.”
Kirby went on to say that in the spring Georgia’s impressive defense was getting pummeled by the offense.
“We struggled in the spring. Our offense attacked (the defense),” he said. “Our players took ownership about that. Shuman and Muschamp have done a great job.”
Undefeated and with a title in tow, Kirby and the Dawgs have the biggest challange of the season in front of them with the CFP starting later today.
“Our team is well connected,” Kirby said. “I don't think you have to have a loss to play your best. I think that helped us last year.”
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GEORGIA EXTENDS NATION’S LONGEST ACTIVE BOWL STREAK
Top-ranked Georgia will face fourth-ranked Ohio State in the College Football Playoff Semifinal at the 2022 Chick-fil-A Peach Bowl in Atlanta on Dec. 31 at 8 p.m. on ESPN. The Bulldogs (13-0) will represent the SEC in their third CFP appearance (fifth game) while the Buckeyes (11-1) hail from the Big Ten and will be making their fifth appearance in a CFP contest. The winner of this game advances to the CFP National Championship in Inglewood, Calif., on Jan. 9 against either Michigan or TCU.
The Bulldogs are making their 60th bowl appearance, which ranks second nationally. They will be making a school record 26th consecutive appearance, the nation’s longest active bowl streak. In school history, Georgia owns a 35-21-3 record in bowl games.
Ohio State has played in 53 bowl games, sporting a record of 26-27. Under Ryan Day, the Buckeyes are 2-2 during the postseason, including 1-2 in CFP contests. Last year, Ohio State edged Utah 48-45 in the Rose Bowl Game.
PEACH BOWL HISTORY FOR THE BULLDOGS
The Bulldogs are 4-2 all-time in Peach Bowl history: Dec. 28, 1973 (Georgia def. #18 Maryland 17-16); Dec. 30, 1989 (Syracuse def. Georgia 19-18); Dec. 30, 1995 (#18 Virginia def. Georgia 34-27); Dec. 31, 1998 (#19 Georgia def. #14 Virginia 35-33); Dec. 30, 2006 (Georgia def. #14 Virginia Tech 31-24); Jan. 1, 2021 (#9 Georgia def. #8 Cincinnati 24-21).
SERIES HISTORY WITH THE BUCKEYES
Georgia owns a 1-0 edge in the series with the Buckeyes. The teams met in the 1993 Citrus Bowl in Orlando, and the No. 8 Bulldogs claimed a 21-14 victory over No. 15 OSU to finish 10-2 under Ray Goff. Georgia was led by Doak Walker Award winner Garrison Hearst and quarterback Eric Zeier while the Buckeyes featured Kirk Herbstreit at quarterback and Robert Smith at running back.
SENIORS MAKING HISTORY
Georgia captured the 2022 SEC Championship with a 50-30 win over No. 14 LSU in Atlanta on Dec. 3. The Bulldog senior class has now established a school record for most career victories with a 47-5 mark. That mark included just nine regular season games and a bowl triumph during the COVID-short- ened season of 2020. The 2021 Bulldog class that finished their career as national champions tallied a 45-8 mark.
The 2022 season marks the first time Georgia has started a season 13-0. The school record for wins in a season is 14 after Kirby Smart’s squad accomplished the feat in 2021 en route to a 14-1 season and its first national championship in 41 years.
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